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A sexual assault was reported to University Police at 3:52 a.m. on July 31. The reported assault occurred at 3:38 a.m. on July 31, on the ground floor hallway of Simmons Hall located in the South Halls residence hall complex. The victim, a student, reported an unknown male reached under her skirt and touched her inappropriately. The male fled the area and was last seen running east of Mifflin Hall. Police searched the area and were unable to locate him.

Kelsie Abduljawad, of Doha, Qatar, graduated in December 2014 with a master’s degree in educational leadership that she completed online through Penn State World Campus. She has been able to apply what she learned in her coursework to help with decision-making for her school’s accreditation, professional development programming and curriculum.

Normal operations will resume in Hammond Building on Thursday, July 30, after an accidental, late-night office fire closed the building for the day on July 29. The building was closed to allow time for restoration crews to properly clean and ventilate the space. Employees who work in the building should report to work on Thursday as normal. In order to reduce foot traffic as contractors repair damaged areas, all classes scheduled to take place in Hammond Building will be temporarily relocated through Aug. 5.

In a University Town Hall meeting on July 28 geared to Office of Physical Plant (OPP) employees, Provost Nick Jones and Senior Vice President David Gray addressed a wide range of topics including health care, child care, employee recruitment and job sourcing, challenges facing OPP employees and where OPP fits in the big picture as the University moves forward.

Families and youths accustomed to attending Penn State's Great Insect Fair each fall will need to adjust their schedules. For this year at least, the popular annual event will leave the Bryce Jordan Center and instead will be part of the 2015 Ag Progress Days expo, Aug. 18-20.

Penn State has recognized John Leone, Penn State alumnus and longtime supporter, as its 2015 Philanthropist of the Year for the support that he and his late wife, Willie Leone, have offered to programs across the University.

Penn State football head coach James Franklin will throw out the first pitch on Thursday, July 30 when the Phillies take on the Atlanta Braves at 7:05 p.m. Franklin's appearance is part of THON Night at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

Scientific experiments with the herpesvirus that causes Marek's disease in poultry have confirmed, for the first time, the highly controversial theory that some vaccines could allow more-virulent versions of a virus to survive, putting unvaccinated individuals at greater risk of severe illness. The research has important implications for food-chain security and food-chain economics, as well as for other diseases that affect humans and agricultural animals.

A University Town Hall meeting to provide Office of Physical Plant employees a chance to learn about the new and ongoing initiatives at the University, ask questions and share suggestions is scheduled for 10-11:30 a.m. July 28 in 100 Thomas Building, University Park. Employees who cannot attend in person can watch the meeting online via a live stream.

Nearly 70 Penn State student-athletes have received Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Awards for the 2014-15 academic year. The total of 69 is the school’s second-highest and just shy of last year’s record total.

A fast-moving pulsar appears to have punched a hole in a disk of gas around its companion star and to have launched a fragment of the disk outward at a speed of about 40 million miles per hour. NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is tracking this cosmic clump, which appears to be picking up speed as it moves out. The catapulted material weighs about as much as all the water in the Earth's oceans.

Right now, in the vast prairie pothole region of southern Canada and the United States' upper Midwest, waterfowl are mingling, raising their young and instinctively preparing to migrate, some leaving as early as August.